Building International Business Relationships: Investing In Vaughan

Consul General Xue Bing, of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto, Visits Vaughan to Discuss International Trade Industry

The City of Vaughan is one of the most dynamic and single fastest growing municipalities in all of Ontario. Over the years, this Vaughan has transformed into a world class city with other countries recognizing the business potential and investing in our local companies. On October 29, 2015, the City of Vaughan joined the Province of Ontario on a successful business mission to China to increase trade opportunities for businesses in Vaughan, create strategic partnerships with Chinese companies and establish Vaughan as a preferred location for Chinese investments. The City of Vaughan’s economic development officer, Elaine Yim Spencer, and I led the 14-day business mission that included tours of head offices, government bureaus, cultural and historical museums and education institutions that showcased the diverse and rapidly expanding domestic market in China. This China mission was a great success with tangible results for the City of Vaughan to support Vaughan businesses entering into Chinese partnerships. The total project value from these joint Vaughan/China partnerships is estimated to be about $116.5 million CAD generated over the next five years. More than 820 jobs in Ontario are expected to be created from these joint ventures. Most importantly, this mission gave us the opportunity to strengthen relationships with businesses and government organizations to gather in-market intelligence and business matchmaking for bilateral trade through the Vaughan International Commercialization Centre (VICC).

On June 13, 2016, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and I met with Consul General Xue Bing, of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto. The Consul General was accompanied, among others, by Deputy Consul General Xu Wei and Commercial Counselor Yu Jianwei. The main objective of this meeting was for both sides to sit down and discuss views on how to strengthen both cultural and business exchanges and cooperation between local Chinese cities and the City of Vaughan. With the City of Vaughan being the fifth-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area that offers convenient transportation and supports environmental sustainability, Vaughan became a sister city to Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province in 1995. This meeting allowed both sides to revisit this partnership, recognize positive outcomes and look at opportunities to expand on these achievements.

Mayor Bevilacqua and I briefed the delegation on the development plan of the City of Vaughan and recognized how the Chinese community have made an outstanding contribution to the city’s economic and social development. We discussed how the municipal government will utilize our unique advantages in manufacturing, logistics and other business modules to welcome more Chinese companies who are interested in investing in the City of Vaughan. This type of project will foster business networking and exchange, and promote economic plans and business development of Vaughan and strengthen the overall Canada-China economic and trade industry.

Consul General Xue presented China’s current economic and social development and offered an insight to future possibilities with Ontario. Consul General Xue explained that “Chinese companies are actively seeking to invest and expand their business overseas” and that “the industries in which the City of Vaughan has an advantage are prominently distinguished and have great potential when it comes to attracting investment from Chinese companies.” The Consulate General conclude that with the efforts by the City of Vaughan, he will continue to business exchanges between local Chinese cities and the City of Vaughan to bring more “tangible benefits for the two sides.”

During the visit, Vaughan’s Economic Development staff provide Consul General Xue a tour of the City to highlight the various advantages that Chinese companies would have when investing in Vaughan. The Consul General and staff also visited various local companies which included a drone delivery company, and a door manufacturing company.